Thousands of others face a cold and wet Christmas after storms caused widespread flooding and power failures across the UK.

Around 50,000 people are still without power – the majority in Surrey, West Sussex and Kent, according to the Energy Networks Association. It is unlikely electricity will be restored today.

'Eating a mcdonalds on Christmas Eve because we've had a power cut all day and most likely all tomorrow' tweeted Nick Rolt from Crawley (@Nicholas_Rolt)

Electricity North West said 200 homes in the west Cumbrian village of Holmrook were also without power.

Firefighters broke their strike in parts of England because of the storms.

Residents are rescued by boat from the flooded Little Venice caravan park in the village of Yalding, Kent (STEPHEN LOCK)

Members of the Fire Brigades Union in Surrey and Kent were recalled to duty under the terms of an agreement between the union, the employers and the Government.

In Bournemouth, police began evacuating residents of the Ilford Bridge Home Park shortly after 3am following a severe flood warning from the Environment Agency.

They were being taken to the Boscombe Day Centre in Owl Road, Boscombe, Dorset Police said.

Officers have been monitoring the levels of the River Stour closely for the last 24 hours and people living in the threatened areas were warned of the possibility of flooding and evacuation.

Emergency services are also making ready to evacuate people from the Beaulieu Garden Park Home in Christchurch, Dorset, after the EA issued another severe flood warning – warning of danger to life – at 5.40am, the third such alert in place.

Dorset Police said 15 residents were being moved from the Beaulieu park to the Boscombe Day Centre.

A major power company is offering to pay for Christmas dinner in local pubs or restaurants for people whose supplies remain cut off today.

UK Power Networks, which delivers power to about eight million customers in the South East, the East of England and London, said the storm led to about 300,000 properties being left without power although for most it was restored by engineers within minutes.

Flooding in Guilford (NORTH DOWNS)

Company spokesman Matt Rudling said: "We're conscious that a few people's Christmas dinners are going to be ruined so we're trying to find ways we can help."

He said the company would "foot the bill" to the tune of £40 per customer.

The Coastguard rescued 76 people from a caravan park that was flooded by the River Medway at Yalding in Kent last night.

Travellers trying to get home on Christmas Eve also battled treacherous conditions on the roads and suffered major delays as the rail network was brought to its knees.

Passengers wait in the departure hall of Gatwick airport's North Terminal on Christmas Eve (GETTY)

There was chaos at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex after a power cut at the North Terminal led to cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

On Wednesday morning National Rail said it had resumed services to Gatwick and Heathrow.

Five people have also died in the last three days because of the violent weather.

The Coastguard, operating outside its area of jurisdiction, joined Kent Fire and Rescue to rescue people from the Little Venice Caravan and Marina Park in Yalding after rising waters from the River Medway cut them off.

Rescuers checked caravans and helped residents to leave by boat and 4x4 vehicles.

By 8pm the water was chest deep, the Coastguard said, and a helicopter was brought in as a precaution while the last 21 people were led to safety from rising flood waters and listing caravans.

Once on dry land the Salvation Army took them to a local leisure centre.

Around 75,000 homes across the UK are still without power, the Energy Networks Association said, and engineers were working through the night to get provision running for Christmas Day.

The EA said that by last night 150 properties had been flooded in England, mainly in the south and focused in Surrey and Kent, with numbers expected to rise.

Firefighters in the two counties broke a five-hour nationwide strike last night to help deal with the effects of the storms.

In Surrey residents were evacuated from their homes in Dorking, Leatherhead and Guildford, while more evacuations occurred in Tonbridge, Kent.

Some 40 properties were evacuated in Godalming because of concerns over the height of the River Wey, Surrey Police said, and a rest centre was set up for residents.

A man wades through rising floodwater from the River Mole near Dorking (GETTY)

In the Mole Valley evacuations took place in Leatherhead and Dorking after the River Mole burst its banks in several areas.

Police said the Flanchford Bridge over the River Mole near Reigate had collapsed, but no one was injured.

A severe flood warning, warning of danger to life, remains in place for the river at Leatherhead and Fetcham in Surrey after it rose to record-breaking levels late last night. Levels are now beginning to fall, the EA said.

Roads were also closed in Guildford and Old Woking in Surrey, police said. Surrey Fire and Rescue said last night that it was dealing with "many rescues" because of the flooding.

The EA this morning had almost 130 flood warnings across England and Wales, mainly in the South East, the South West and the Midlands. A further 226 flood alerts were also in place, with 90 in the South East alone.

The flooding will leave Christmas cancelled for many people. Gary Button, manager of the Old Mill Hotel in Batheaston near Bath, told the BBC he had to cancel more than 50 Christmas dinners after the River Avon flooded the property.

A flooded room at The Old Mill Hotel in Bathampton, Somerset (SWNS)

Thousands of people have had their Christmas plans ruined by the storms, and many face the festive period without power.

Airline easyJet said it would be operating a limited number of flights from Gatwick Airport today to replace ones that should have operated yesterday.

These include flights to Faro, Basle, Malaga, Alicante and Amman, while passengers from a cancelled flight from Gibraltar to Gatwick will be travelling on one from Malaga today.

easyJet said it would be unable to schedule any further flights today because of limited capacity at airports and crew availability.

A spokesman said: "Due to the high amount of cancellations that were unavoidable on the 24th, we are currently working on a plan to repatriate all passengers back to their destinations as soon as possible.

"But please be advised this may take a couple of days whilst the programme resumes to normal operation from Thursday."